Ten Flights
by iThinkUnicornsKickArse
Summary: Bonnie has moved to New York to begin her new life and scholarship in graphic design. She has to find somewhere to live, get a job and balance a heavy study load... it's going to be hard. There is one perk though, her new neighbour across the hall. AU/Human Kennett
1. First Flight

_ok so this is my very first fanfiction. I hope you like it. i have been reading non-stop kennett fanfic and love them all, ther just needs to be more so i decided to try my hand at it. I welcome constructive criticism just be kind about it please. Hope u enjoy!_

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Bonnie began the long slow trudge up the ten flights of stairs to her apartment with what felt like the fiftieth box. She was excited about moving out of home for the first time to a new city and beginning her study, but all this shifting of her belongings was beginning to drag her down.

"Ugh why did I have to move to a top floor apartment in a unit block with no lift!" sighed bonnie to herself.

By the third flight of stairs bonnie had slowed to a snails' pace and she was beginning to worry she would never make it to the top. As she huffed out a big breath, blowing her fringe up and readjusting the large box, she could hear someone whistling coming up the stairs and they were quickly closing in on her.

"Let me just put this box down and I'll move out of your way so you can get past" shaking her head bonnie slowly knelt down putting her box to the side. Great she thought it's going to take every last ounce of strength to lift that box back up.

"Hey, sorry I wasn't catching up to you so I could get past, I was running up here to see if I could be of any assistance" huffed the stranger up to bonnie.

Bonnie turned to see her helpful neighbour and was pleasantly surprised by what she saw. He was definitely good looking, but by the smirk he was giving her she was sure he knew it. He had messy brown hair, gorgeous thick brown eyebrows and piercing hazel eyes.

"Hi I'm Kol….." smiled Kol to his new neighbour. Looking her quickly up and down he was glad he'd caught up to her.

Wow that's a smile that would make any girl melt. "Hi …. Bonnie and yes I would love some assistance. Thanks so much. But I should warn you I am on the top floor" Bonnie grinned back.

"Not to worry, so am I" Kol leant down to pick up Bonnie's box with ease taking the opportunity to check out her ass as he did. He definitely liked what he saw.

"So you must be Rebekah's new roommate?" Kol proceeded up the stairs ahead of Bonnie. She was taking her time to admire the view of her new neighbour in his dirty denim jeans.

"Ahhh… yeah I am… how'd you guess?" Bonnie questioned.

"Well remember two seconds ago when I said I was on the top floor too? Well…..seeing as there's only two apartments on the top floor and I live in one of them, simple case of deduction…unless your moving in with me" Kol joked raising a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Oh yeah Duh stupid me….."lightly slapping herself on her forehead. "I've just been moving all day and I'm beat physically and obviously by that last question mentally as well". It had been a long day and Bonnie was looking forward to crashing out in her new room.

"Nah don't be so hard on yourself… the other more obvious thing was that you were moving in without any help. Only Rebekah would see carrying boxes up ten flights of stairs beneath her" Kol smirked at Bonnie "Some folks have people they pay to do their dirty work while commoners like us have to do it ourselves" joked Kol nudging Bonnie lightly in the ribs.

"Yeah I guess" replied Bonnie not really listening to Kol. She was so tired from moving all day she was almost sleep walking up the last flight of stairs. Staring off into space she was just happy Kol had run into her and was now carrying the last of her boxes to her door it was a small silver lining to her crappy day.

"Well...here we are!" announced Kol handing Bonnie back her box.

"Thanks again, can I invite you in for a cup of tea, juice,water or some other beverage? To say thanks…. I mean I think Rebekah". Kol her off before she could finish.

"Ahhhh… no I'll leave you to it, besides you look beat and I don't want to hold you up from the nap your obviously dying to take as soon as you put that box down" Laughed Kol retreating across the hall "Anyway, I'm sure we'll see each other again soon" smirking to himself, he was going to do everything he could to make sure of that.

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Bonnie managed to get her keys out and turn them in the lock. Rebekah looked up not having moved from her spot on the couch as Bonnie pushed open the door, "Oh hey that was quick. I'm only halfway through this nail." Genuine surprise on her face as she continued painting her nails a sparkly pink

"Well it would've been my slowest I'm sure had it not been for your hunky neighbour" Bonnie walked over to her room to drop her last box on the floor. Rebecca whipped her head around to her. "What did you say?! Hunky neighbour?! Surely you're not referring to KOL? Now tell me you do not find that repulsive pig even remotely attractive?"

Oooh hit a nerve there thought Bonnie, maybe there was more to Kol saying no to coming inside than he let on. "Well he was a perfect gentleman to me, even carried my box all the way up the stairs, why what's wrong with him?" Rebekah's sudden outburst about Kol had definitely peaked her interest.

"Oh it's a long story" dismissed Rebekah with a wave of her hand "But the short of it is that he's a serial womanizer and quite a few of my friends have been on the receiving end of his antics". Bonnie could feel the venom in her voice.

"Well that's justified the repulsive pig comment, have you ever…?"Bonnie asked raising her eyebrows towards Rebecca. "Ugh Yuck. No definitely not" Rebecca cut her off before she could finish," besides I don't go for that I just rolled out of bed, scruffy, bad boy look. Unfortunately my friends don't have the same impeccable taste in men that I do" Rebecca sighed to her outstretched hand waving her nail polish dry. "Please don't tell me your even thinking of going there" Rebecca almost pleaded to Bonnie.

"Well no…. not now you've told me that." Bonnie walked over to the seat opposite Rebekah and plonked down sighing" Although I was slightly taken by his smirks and smiles" Bonnie smiled over at Rebecca's look of outrage. "Oh really! ?" she asked narrowing her eyes at Bonnie.

Bonnie couldn't contain it anymore and burst out in fits of laughter "Nah. I was just trying to rile you up" she was laughing so hard she was clutching at her sides watching Rebekah face turn from outrage to relief back to outrage at being played. "Ugh, if my nails were dry I'd throw this cushion at your head" Rebekah was exasperated at the thought that her new flatmate, whom she'd grown quite fond of in the first few hours of meeting her, might have fallen under Kol's spell like her friends. Thankfully it seemed that Bonnie had her head on straight to see through Kol's so called charming ways.

"Oh well at least I got him to carry my box upstairs for me" Bonnie winked to Rebecca getting up to start the long slow process of unpacking. "Hey are you in or out tonight?"

"Out, I've got a date with this guy I've just started seeing" Rebekah smiled to herself picturing the romantic night ahead with Stefan. "ooh details, details please" Bonnie was happy to delay her unpacking for the next half an hour while Rebekah gushed about her new man she'd met getting coffee on Wednesday morning.

"Well I'm off, don't stay up Bonnie" winking as she walked to the door. "Wow you look great" Bonnie was impressed at Rebehah's transformation from sweatpants and hoodie into 1920's style glam chic. "Stefan's taking me out to a twenties club so I thought I'd try and look the part". "Oh and help yourself to any leftovers in the fridge I know you haven't had a chance to get to the shops yet, so as they say 'what's mine is yours'" Bonnie smiled as Rebekah disappeared out the door, her new life in New York was turning out alright. She had managed to find an awesome place to live (minus the broken lift) her flatmate was great and her new neighbour well….. even if he was a ladies man he was at least easy on the eye.


	2. Chapter 2 - Best laid plans

_Firstly i really want to say thankyou all so much for all the follows, favourites, reviews, every time i got one of those messages it spurred me on to write more. I know everyone says this but they do mean alot, so thanks. Ok here is the next chapter i hope it doesn't dissapoint. Enjoy!_

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Bonnie peered into the fridge hoping Rebekah had some leftovers that she could zap in the microwave. She was definitely craving hot carb-loaded food after walking the marathon that was the ten flights of stairs to her apartment over and over and over. "Ugh" Bonnie shut the fridge door disappointed, did that girl eat anything substantial? All she had found in the fridge that she could classify as leftovers were Tupperware containers full of prepared salad and chopped up carrot and celery sticks.

To be fair Rebekah also had her fridge stocked with fruit, veg and meat, so she could whip something up but the thought of trying to work out where all the cooking equipment lived, not to mention the dreaded amount of dishes that would require washing up instantly put her off the idea. No what she needed was good old fashioned takeaway.

With a determined look on her face Bonnie headed for the bottom kitchen draw, the place where everyone kept their takeaway menus. Pulling the draw open she hung her head defeated, "great well that settles that" Bonnie muttered as she grabbed her keys and headed for the door. She was intending to check out her neighbourhood just not this soon. She just hoped there was a good takeaway joint within sight of her unit block.

Wiggling the key in the lock making sure she had actually locked the door Bonnie instantly regretted not changing out of her dirty and dusty moving clothes when she heard the door across the way open. Hang on, what was she thinking? Why did she care what Kol thought of her appearance? 'Remember Bonnie Kol is a womanizer' she repeated Rebekah's mantra to herself.

"Hey Kol" Bonnie turned to face him with a small wave. "Ahhh Bonnie, see I told you it wouldn't be long before we'd meet again" turning on a killer smile "Didn't think it would be this soon but hey I'm not complaining" hands up and shrugging his shoulders, Bonnie had to admit to herself, yeah she thought he was cute.

Bonnie's eyes gave Kol the once over realising he'd, unlike herself, actually bothered to change clothes and that he was now wearing a short sleeve dress shirt that showed off his toned, tanned muscular arms. Bonnie huffed, guys arms were her weakness and she didn't miss the fact that Kol's were really, really nice.

"Soooo u heading out for the night?" Bonnie was doing her best to make polite small talk. Regardless of what Rebekah had told Bonnie about Kol it didn't mean she couldn't be his friend. Bonnie couldn't ignore the fact that he'd been nothing but nice to her and she was definitely in need of friends in this new city, being able to count them all using one finger.

"Yeah just down to the nightclub a few blocks down, it being Friday night and all" it was his usual Friday night ritual going to a club and picking up but he wasn't about to divulge that information to her.

"And you? Ready for a big night out?"Kol joked, indicating at her grubby clothes. "Ha Ha, funny guy" giving him her best sarcastic smile "no I'm just trying to get some takeaway, Oh Hey!" it suddenly dawned on her she could use Kol's local knowledge to narrow down her dinner mission "do you know any good takeaway joints… well actually close is more what I'm after, my feet are killing me".

Kol chuckled at her predicament. "Why in fact I do. Actually I know a good pizza place that is quite close" starting down the stairs signalling Bonnie to follow him. "Awesome" Bonnie sighed, slumping her shoulders in relief that she wasn't going to have to trudge around the neighbourhood for half the night looking for a feed.

Feeling he was alone in his decent of the first flight of stairs kol turned to see Bonnie still standing on the top landing staring off into space. He shook his head in dismay at her zombie like status, she must be so tired he thought. "Come on Bonnie" Kol called out trying to wake her from her trance "I'm not going to bite".

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They spilled out onto the street together both giggling like teenagers. "Ouch … Oh Kol Please stop that's way too funny" Bonnie had tears streaming down her face clutching her stomach in pain from laughing so much. "Well I did warn you" tilting his head he took in the beautiful girl that was Bonnie, she was so carefree it was intoxicating, even in her dusty clothes he found her breathtaking.

"Oh man Rebekah is going to be so pissed at you for telling me that story" straightening up trying to compose herself. "Well she shouldn't have mail ordered something like that when she explicitly told me to open all her mail in case anything important turned up "Kol shrugged claiming innocence. "Yeah but did u have to deliver it to her during her dinner party?" Bonnie couldn't get the mental picture out of her head, she could just imagine the look of horror on Rebekah's face as Kol, interrupted her party brandishing a vibrator. She began to wipe away her tears of laughter only to see Kol reaching out tenderly to wipe them away.

Realising what he was doing he stopped himself inches away from her face. What was he doing? His hand still hanging in mid-air he had caught himself completely off guard and by the look on Bonnie's face she was taken aback as well."Ahhh so which way is the pizza place" Bonnie was desperately trying to alleviate the awkward tension that was just created.

"Just down this block" Kol finally dropped his hand back to his side and continued down the footpath not bothering to look if Bonnie was following or not. Bonnie jogged to catch up to him, trying to break the silence between them "Hey wait up, I'll give you a slice for your trouble".

Turning the corner after the first block Bonnie could see her goal in sight, the word Pizza in neon lights had never looked so appealing "So just how good is the pizza here?" Licking her lips she could almost taste it. "Well now I don't want you to have super high expectations… but it's literally hands down the best pizza in town" Kol grinned shoving his hands into his pockets, seeing Bonnie starting to salivate over a pizza was a strange yet amusing sight. Bonnie was just glad they were back to their normal banter.

Matt had gotten stuck with the Friday night late shift this week, he was bored out of his brain as it had so far been a slow night. Wiping the bench top down trying to pass time he looked up as hearing the bell above the door ring and was very surprised to see who had just wandered in off the street.

"Kol Buddy!" Matt exclaimed as he reached for Kol's hand to bring him in for a slap on the back. "Unusual surprise what brings you down here on a Friday night?" Kol gave him a smug smile. "Well if you must know, I was just helping my new neighbour Bonnie here", Matt noticed Kol's eyes drifting to gorgeous girl beside him, "She was after a takeaway joint so I lead her here". Matt just raised his eyebrows and smirked at Kol "Why thank you" how Kol managed to find, what seemed to be, an endless supply of gorgeous girls had him mystified.

Bonnie was too busy studying the gourmet section of the pizza menu to notice the interaction. There were way too many choices and they were all beginning to blur into one. Stuff it, she gave up and went for ye old faithful "Can I have a large margarita please" Bonnie announced finally looking up only to be met with a wide eyed expression from the blonde boy behind the counter. "What?" she asked turning to Kol looking for answers, based on his smirk she had the slightest of suspicions that the guys had just been talking about her.

As Bonnie sat waiting for the longest 15 minutes of her life to pass her by her eyes began to wonder around the shop. Kol was chatting with Matt both of them peering over at her occasionally. She just rolled her eyes which came to a stop on the notice board on the opposite wall. Amongst the numerous business advertisements and charity posters Bonnie spotted the Help Wanted sign. Getting up deciding it required a closer look Bonnie saw it was actually a job advertisement for the pizza place.

"Perfect" she joyously whispered to herself. A job close to home and working hours that wouldn't interfere with Uni, this was exactly what she was after. Ripping the ad off the notice board she headed over to Matt and smacked it down on the counter in front of him. "I want to apply".

Matt was taken aback "Uh….. Ok. Let me just get an application and you can fill it out" walking off to find the papers. Bonnie just stared after him with the biggest grin plastered on her face. "Doesn't take much to make you happy does it?" Kol gave her with a quizzical look he was desperately trying to work this girl out.

"Really Bonnie working at the Pizza place?" Looking around at the inside of the shop, Kol never would've pictured Bonnie wanting to work here. "Hey what's wrong with that?" Matt had returned with the application form unimpressed at hearing his friend bag out his job. Not answering Kol she just raised her eyebrows mysteriously at him and grabbed the form off Matt quickly filling it out. She wasn't about to let him kill her buzz about finding a potential job this quickly.

"So here Bonnie is your pizza and the manager will call you soon to let you know about the job, I'll even put in a good word for you if you'd like?" Matt was trying to contain his excitement at the thought of having Bonnie working alongside him. She seemed super nice and was very easy on the eyes. "That would be great, thanks again Matt" Bonnie smiled sweetly at Matt's offer. Kol didn't miss the looks between the two, he knew Matt was keen on Bonnie, he just didn't know how he felt about that.

Opening up the box straight away Bonnie offered up a slice to Kol "As promised". Kol just shook his head, his Friday night had gotten side tracked by Bonnie and he wanted to get it back on track as soon as possible. Drinking, dancing and girls was what he was after and those plans didn't involve hanging around watching Bonnie and Matt make goo goo eyes at each other. "Thanks but I've got to go" and with that Kol was out the door, leaving Bonnie standing there with pizza in hand feeling somewhat dejected.

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**what did you think? I know you can't follow/fav more than once but maybe leave a quick review to let me know if your still liking it? I should have the next chapter up before the weekend! Thanks for reading :)**


	3. Chapter 3 -Second Flight

_Well here it is and it's a monster chapter…..i feel a little drained. I know I've said this before but, all of you that have liked my story enough to follow/fav I give you a heartfelt thankyou it means the world to me. And a special thankyou to everyone that took time out to leave a review, your kind words are awesome forms of encouragement for me to continue writing. Ok on with the story…._

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Rebekah walked into the kitchen to put the coffee on, she was in dire need of a caffeine hit this morning. She had gotten in late last night, only to find Bonnie passed out on the couch with a half-eaten pizza sitting in its box next to her. Rebekah tutted at the pizza box still lying there open, even though she knew her new flatmate was beyond tired last night it was still no excuse. She would have to have a word with Bonnie about it.

Bonnie woke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, lifting herself up to a sitting position she found a series of stripes indented on her arm from the corduroy couch. "Great" Bonnie muttered sleepily, she was disappointed with herself for spending her first night in her new place on the couch instead of the bed she had spent all yesterday setting up.

Rebekah heard Bonnie stirring as she was frothing the milk on her espresso machine. "Question for you Bonnie" Rebekah looked over to see if she was paying attention. "Do you like cockroaches?" Bonnie squinted at Rebekah's question confused as to why she was talking about cockroaches first thing in the morning. Rebekah not bothering to wait for an answer just got straight to the point "because you know, that's how you get cockroaches" indicating at Bonnie's leftovers with a stern look on her face. Bonnie finally noticed her half eaten pizza "Shit sorry about that, it won't happen again I promise" feeling bad about getting on her flatmate's nerves so soon.

Rebekah came over and dropped down onto the opposite end of the couch to Bonnie. "Morning Bonnie" giving Bonnie the smallest of smiles she handed her a coffee. Returning Rebekah's smile Bonnie gratefully accepted the peace offering "Morning Rebekah". Rebekah tried to clear the air with Bonnie "please call me Bekah".

They were enjoying their morning coffee in peace when Bonnie and Rebekah were rudely interrupted by a knock at the door. "Who is it" Rebekah called out not wanting to move off the couch. Kol found the door was unlocked and let himself in, "Only me" he said peering around the door smiling at the blonde and brunette sitting on the couch and his smile only stretched wider when he saw the cups of coffee in their hands "I knew I could smell coffee".

He noticed Bonnie had thin stripes imprinted all the way up her arm "What happened to you" he asked pointing at her. Bonnie started raking her hand through her hair feeling self-conscious about having bed head, under Kol's scrutinizing gaze. Rebekah had had enough of his small talk. "What do you want Kol?"she questioned, forcing him to getting straight to the point.

"I got caught short again and the shops don't open for another 2 hours, I just need to borrow a little bit of coffee" Kol said indicating just how little he needed with his thumb and forefinger. Rebekah shook her head at his request, she wanted to see him squirm just a little. "Come on Bekah," Kol pleaded "I'll replace it with that blend you love from Speciality Roasters, I'll even pick it up on Monday after work". He was willing to make all kinds of promises to get some coffee from her. "Fine" Rebekah rolled her eyes at his desperation.

As Rebekah turned her back to go to the kitchen to fetch the coffee he so desperately wanted, Kol took the opportunity to silently re-enact his story from last night for Bonnie. Watching Kol's exaggerated gestures the laugh Bonnie had been trying to hold in burst from her lips, she quickly tried to hide it with a cough as Rebekah quickly turned around. Seeing Kol's hand in mid-air holding an invisible object she knew exactly what he was up to, "you told her the vibrator story didn't you?" Rebekah needn't have bothered to ask the question she already knew the answer. "God Kol you're so predictable, you tell everyone that story" she chucked the coffee bag at him in disgust. Swiftly catching it he just smiled smugly "give me another just as good and I'll start telling that one instead".

"Come on Bekah you have to admit it's pretty funny, besides it was me that challenged Kol to try and get a laugh out of me last night when we went to get pizza" Bonnie explained trying to save Kol from any further wrath.

Rebekah's eyes darted between the two of them. From their conversation she had deducted that Bonnie had hung out with Kol last night and she wasn't the least bit impressed. Turning to glare at Kol she showed him as much. Rebekah knew the effect Kol had on girls and she wasn't going to see another of friends fall to his prey, besides they had a deal and by the looks of things he was going the right way about breaking it.

Noticing Rebekah's death stare at Kol, a look of confusion crossed Bonnie's face. She just couldn't work them out; moments ago her two new friends were sarcastically joking with each other and the next thing Rebekah was shooting daggers at Kol while Kol looked slightly guilty after she alluding to them spending time together in front of Rebekah. Bonnie had no doubt in her mind that there was no romantic interest, past or present, from either party; they acted like friends or at the very least good acquaintances. All Bonnie was sure about was that they were hiding something from her and it was only a matter of time before she discovered exactly what it was.

Rebekah's menacing look was not lost on Kol. He knew what it meant, Rebekah obviously thought he'd over stepped their agreement by spending time with Bonnie last night. "Thanks again" he said to Rebekah with a hollow smile and taking his leave. He wasn't going to hang around for Rebekah to remind him of the finer points; she had made it perfectly clear with one look that Bonnie was 'off limits'.

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Bonnie had gotten off the subway and was making quick tracks towards the Pizza Place. She was laden down with text books and sketch pads from Uni but if she didn't hurry up she was going to be late for her first shift and she didn't want make a bad first impression.

She pushed open the front door with seconds to spare and about to lose her bundle of books she quickly dropped them on the front counter. She puffed out the breath she'd been holding onto and slumped onto the counter she had basically run the last two blocks and needed a breather.

Matt was out the back getting ready for the Wednesday night shift when he heard the bell over the front door. He'd come out the front only to see a whole heap of books dumped on the counter and Bonnie leaning up against the counter resting her head in her arms. "And what time do you call this" Matt teased looking at his watch.

Bonnie lifted her head to see a smiling Matt staring down at her; she instantly felt a wave of relief pass over her, glad that Matt was going to be the one to guide her through her first shift. He was a familiar face and he seemed like a good guy, after all he had put a good word in for her, his manager had told Bonnie as much when he phoned her on Monday night to say she had the job. Matt tossed a small green shirt to her "just change into that out the back and we'll start the process of turning you into a master of pizza perfection".

"So graphic design Eh?" he asked loudly so she could hear him from where she was getting changed, examining one of her text books in his hands. "Yeah, I just started at NYU this week, it's pretty intense" Bonnie yelled back at him. He put her text book down and picked up her sketchpad flipping through it. His eyes opened wide in shock at the endless pages of cool illustrations, patterns and crazy fonts "I can't believe how much work you've already done and you're only halfway through your first week".

"Well I really don't want to fall behind. I have to keep my grades up in order to keep my scholarship". She said coming from out the back twirling for him to show off the not so stylish polo work shirt. Matt looked and smiled at her display, he always thought no one could look good in a Pizza Place shirt but he quickly changed his mind when he saw Bonnie in hers. "I really don't think you need to worry about that, you're really really good". "Thanks" she smiled brightly at Matt. It was always nice to hear someone say her designs were good.

"Ok so it basically works like this, we spend the first hour of our shift making pizza dough before we open " Matt explained as he led Bonnie around the shop. "Then it's just a matter of rolling the pre made dough out onto the pan, adding the right toppings and shoving it in the oven. Simple" finishing his explanation he caught Bonnie's bewildered look. "How am I supposed to remember which toppings go on which pizza, there's like 30 different pizzas?" Bonnie was worried she was never going to get the hang of this. "Simple" he said again, giving her a winning smile as he handed her a laminated cheat sheet.

Bonnie's first shift had gone off without a hitch, she had to admit it was mainly due to Matt. He had come to her rescue quite a few times tonight when she'd; forgotten to take a pizza out of the oven, didn't leave off the anchovies as requested by a customer and messed up the till twice. They were cleaning up the benches when Matt turned to her.

"So…" he had been skirting around the question all night but it was now or never, Matt thought to himself working up the courage "You and Kol?" he asked quirking an eyebrow at her hoping she knew what he was referring to. Bonnie was surprised at Matt's question, did he really think that Kol and herself were anything more than friends "Me and Kol what? Not sure what you're referring to Matt but we're just friends". Matt just grinned stupidly happy at her response.

Bonnie was still baffled by his question. Trying to get to the bottom of it she probed him for more detail, "I've known him for less than a week anyway so I'm not sure what you thought could be happening within that length of time". Matt didn't know why Kol hadn't made a move yet on Bonnie it was unlike him. Especially since the first time he saw them together on Friday night he was sure that there was something between the two. "Believe me, when it comes to Kol, a week is plenty of time for there to be a 'you and Kol'". Bonnie was unsure how she felt about the information Matt had just divulged to her.

"So do you have the Friday night shift again?" Bonnie enquired. She liked Matt and was hoping he would be there again for her next shift. "Yeah, for the second week in a row" Matt replied glumly. He wasn't pleased about his current roster. "Well I'll see you then" Bonnie smiled trying to lift his spirits. Giving Matt a small wave she left out the back door leaving him slightly less depressed about the roster, he could think of worse ways to spend his Friday night.

* * *

As Kol finally reached the top landing he bent his head down and shook out his soaking wet hair. He had gotten caught in a torrential down pour between the subway and home and was now dripping water everywhere from his wet clothes.

"Hey! Watch it!" Looking up he was surprised to see Bonnie sitting against her apartment door trying desperately to shield her sketchpad from the spray of water he'd sent everywhere. "Sorry" he said sheepishly, "I wasn't expecting you to be there…actually… why are you sitting there? Did you get on Bekah's bad side again?"

There was that mischievous smirk again that Bonnie was finding herself growing fond of. She shook her head to his question, "for your information, not that you deserve it after almost ruining my latest assignment" indicating at her sketchpad "I left without my keys this morning as I was running late and now I'm left waiting for Bekah to get home but she's stuck in meetings till late!" raising her voice at the end in frustration. Her butt was sore from sitting on the hard wooden floor for the last three hours, she was sick and tired of waiting.

"Oh! Well….if Bekah is going to be a while why don't you just wait at my place?" he suggested. From the dubious look Bonnie gave him he could tell she was hesitant to except his offer. "Come on that can't be comfortable" pointing at her position on the floor, "I'll even make you dinner" he finished in a sing song voice.

Bonnie looked at her watch, it was almost 6:30, her stomach was starting to grumble at the thought of food. What the hell, it can't be any worse than sitting here for another two hours. "Ok" she said in resignation, raising her hand towards Kol.

Kol pulled Bonnie up with his wet hand, dripping water all over her in the process. "Erh, yuck, you're drenched". Kol rolled his eyes at her obvious statement, "yeah, it's pouring out there". Kol opened the door to his apartment and kicked off his sodden shoes and socks glad to finally be rid of them. Bonnie wiped her now wet hand on her jeans and followed Kol inside closing the door behind.

"So, welcome to my humble abode" Kol said taking off his shirt, keen to get out his wet clothes as soon as possible. "I'm going to take a shower and change into some dry clothes, just make yourself at home" pointing out the black leather couch to Bonnie whilst subtly flexing his muscles. He hoped Bonnie was enjoying the show. Bonnie was sure her eyes were bugging out of her head when Kol whipped off his shirt in front of her. The guy was ripped and she had felt a sudden need to find out how it would feel to press her hands up against his smooth toned chest.

Collapsing onto his soft leather couch Bonnie took out her phone and chucked her bag and books onto his dark wooden coffee table. Leaning her head against the back of the couch Bonnie's eyes wandered around Kol's apartment. She wasn't surprised to see the living area dominated by a large screen tv, various game consoles and a bookcase full of games for said consoles. It was rather neatly organised she noted, whilst wondering if her things messily strewn on the coffee table was going to bug him. Judging by the way he kept his apartment it seemed Kol was a tad bit anal retentive.

She sent Rebekah a text

- **Kol's letting me wait at his till you get home, having dinner here.**

Bonnie was bored she got up to give Kol's place a closer inspection, over in the corner of the living room she could see a keyboard, drum machine, guitars a mixing board and other musical equipment set up. She was intrigued, she didn't know Kol was a musician, she had never heard music coming from his apartment since moving in. Bonnie couldn't help herself and started to push some of the buttons on his sampler.

"Woah,woah!, What are you doing?" Kol had walked into his living room expecting to find Bonnie reading one of her books on his couch or maybe at least watching tv but instead she was potentially deleting hours of hard work. Rushing over to her he grabbed her hand before she could push another button. "When I said make yourself at home I didn't mean help yourself to touch all my stuff".

Bonnie felt guilty she could tell by his tone that he was pissed off "Sorry I thought it was off I didn't think it would do any damage" Bonnie looked down at Kol's hand still clasped over her wrist "you know you can let go, I'm not going to press any more buttons".

Kol finally dropped Bonnie's hand, he knew she hadn't meant any harm "No I'm sorry, I didn't mean to over react. It's just I was working on something all last night and I forgot to save it, I was worried you might accidently delete it" he explained whilst checking the computer he ran his music equipment through. Seeing that nothing had been deleted he sighed in relief. "No harm done" he turned smiling at her apologetically.

"So what's the story?" Bonnie asked pointing at all his equipment. Kol sighed he loved making music he just hated talking about it; it only reminded him he still hadn't achieved his dream of being a signed artist. "I guess you could call it something I like to do in my spare time when I'm not selling my sole for the advertising mogul's down at Vision, writing all their shitty jingles and earning my weekly wage". Kol made it pretty obvious he didn't enjoy his job.

Bonnie's eyes widened when she saw the microphone "oooh do you sing?" Kol's head dropped into his hand, he knew what was coming next and he needed to shut it down quickly. " Short answer yes, and no I'm not going to sing for you, my band sometimes books a gig at the local pub and if you really want I'll let you know the next time we do". Kol didn't want to discuss his music career or lack thereof anymore and quickly changed the subject.

"Let's get dinner on shall we? You must be starving" Kol took Bonnie's hand and began dragging her over towards the kitchen. "Hey I thought you were making me dinner" Bonnie protested. 'No way, you my friend are on chopping duty" he said positioning Bonnie at the bench, grabbing out a chopping board, onions and garlic and placing them in front of her. "Do you always give your guests the worst jobs" Bonnie teased. "Come on Bonnie a little bit of chopping isn't going to hurt you" Kol teased back. "Fine" she said taking the knife from him, "just know that I'm leaving you with all the washing up then". Kol just chuckled at her, Bonnie looked cute when she made demands "Ok, deal".

Bonnie was halfway through her second onion, tears streaming down her face when the knife slipped cutting deeply into her finger. Bonnie screamed in pain, looking down at her hand blood started gushing from the cut. Kol was all of a sudden behind her, encasing her with his arms whilst applying pressure to the cut with some paper towel he must have grabbed. "Here Bonnie let me look at the damage" he said soothingly bringing her hand up to inspect the cut.

Kol gently peeled back the towel to look, it wasn't so deep that she would need stiches, but it was still a pretty nasty cut. Without the pressure it began to bleed again. "Come on Bonnie let's get you cleaned up" Kol tried to motion Bonnie towards the sink but she stayed grounded in the same spot, probably still in shock from seeing her blood gush everywhere.

Kol hated seeing Bonnie in pain, he wished he'd never got her to chop those damn onions. Seeing that Bonnie wasn't budging he just grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up with ease, sitting her on the bench next to the sink. Bonnie started to relax as she felt the cool water washing over her finger. She looked over watching Kol tenderly washing her wound. "Thanks" she said giving him a teary smile. "Don't sweat it" Kol was just relieved she was no longer in shock.

"Now, stay here while I raid the medicine cupboard and keep pressure on it, you ok with that?" Bonnie just nodded in response to Kol's instructions. Kol was back and before she knew it he had her wound expertly bandaged up. "Does that feel better now?" he questioned her with genuine concern whilst gently stroking her arm up and down with his fingertips. Staring into Bonnie's eyes for an indication she was ok he noticed her usual dark eyes under the kitchen lights were actually a brilliant green, he found himself getting lost in her eyes and began to put more weight on his hand resting on her knee as he slowly leaned in.

"Yeah I'm ok" she whispered breathlessly to him. Looking directly into his piercing hazel eyes she couldn't take the close proximity any longer, giving in to her desires her eyes fell to his soft lips as he leaned in, closing the small gap between them.

_Buzz Buzz. _Bonnie was shocked to feel her phone vibrate in her pocket, pulling back to take it out of her pocket. Kol just cursed quietly to himself. She had gotten a text from Rebekah.

- **Just got your text, finished meeting, on my way home. Oh and tell that Ass Hat from next door to give you our spare key!**

Bonnie's eyebrows rose up at the news she had just received "So were you ever going to tell me you had a key to let me in?" narrowing her eyes at him. 'Shit' he thought to himself, he had just wanted to spend time with Bonnie and hadn't factored in Rebekah telling Bonnie about the key. He knew he'd been caught out and turned to the top draw pulling out the offending key and dropping it into Bonnie's open palm "sorry I completely forgot about it" he said unconvincingly.

Bonnie was pissed she'd been lied to, not falling for his lame excuse. Jumping off the counter she grabbed her stuff and headed for the door, not being able to be in the same room as him any longer. Her mind was a mess, she was one minute staring lustfully into his eyes ready to kiss him and the next moment finding out he'd deceived her, she felt like this whole afternoon was some little game Kol was playing at.

Kol followed Bonnie out the door "come on Bonnie, what about dinner?" he'd messed up and was trying desperately to win her back. Bonnie had her back to him already at her door. "Bonnie…. bonnie… I can't eat it all by myself" Bonnie just continued to ignore him opening her door. Knowing he had lost he slumped against his door frame sighing. Bonnie finally turned to him, his eyes lighting up for a moment before she tossed the spare keys back at him "sorry Kol I've lost my appetite" she said sadly, closing the door.

* * *

**And there you have it. If you like what you read please let me know or fav/follow if you want. The next chapter might be up next week or earlier not sure how long it's going to take me. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Oh what a beautiful morning

Kol slowly began to lift his head off of his pillow, awoken by the sound of crashing pots and pans. Scrunching his eyebrows together, Kol tried to get his alcohol riddled mind to remember the events of last night, but all he got in return was a piercing headache. Dropping his head back down with a groan, there were a few things he could work out, without thinking too hard. One; he went out last night to the club and apparently by the way the room was spinning, had drank way too much. Two; he was naked, and given his success rate and the bra strewn across the floor, it was pretty safe to assume he'd hooked up with someone. Three; he was in his apartment, not the ideal location to be in on a Saturday morning. He much preferred to opt for going back to the girl's place, much easier to make that 'no strings attached' quick getaway.

Lifting himself up and slowly swinging his legs to the floor, Kol managed a sitting position with much effort. There were further clanging and banging noises still coming from the kitchen, all he wanted to do right now was sleep off his hang over but at this rate it was never going to happen. Whoever he had brought home last night needed to leave and leave now. Getting up to deal with the consequences of last night he grabbed at the closest pair of pants to put on and wandered out to the living area.

Alarm bells started going off in his head when he saw the girl he had brought home, she was raiding his fridge whilst attempting to cook something on the stove and wearing his t-shirt. 'This isn't going to be easy' he thought shaking his head. He could tell this girl wasn't going to budge from his apartment now that she'd made her way in. He'd met girls like this before.

"Koley baby, I'm just making us breakfast in bed, I was going to surprise you" sticking her bottom lip out at him for spoiling her plans. Kol didn't find her exaggerated pout very appealing, and the cutesy nickname only annoyed him further.

"Look ahhhhh….." leaving an awkward pause hoping she'd fill in the blanks as he had no idea what her name was. "Mary Sue" she said her smile only faltering slightly. "Yeah Mary Sue … look, about that….. you see, I've got a lot of things on today so I think I'm probably going to skip breakfast altogether" scratching the back of his head with disinterest, hoping she'd take the hint. She didn't.

"That's ok, I'll just clean up around here, maybe duck out for a bit grab my stuff, maybe some food to restock our fridge and have dinner ready for when you get back" beaming back at Kol as she revealed her well laid out plans for them.

'Shit' he cursed under his breath, he was too hung over to deal with this. Kol dropped his head into his hands and slowly began to massage his temple. 'Think Kol, think' muttering as he closed his eyes, in a brief moment of clarity it came to him. He did know a quick way to get this girl out of his apartment and without much effort on his part. Smiling, pleased with himself for having one clear thought this morning, he headed for the door. It was times like these that made his deal with Rebekah well worth it.

Bonnie kicked back putting her feet up on the couch and began reading one of Rebekah's glossy magazines. She couldn't sleep in any longer, not without having to listen to the sounds coming from her and Rebekah's adjoining bedroom wall.

Bonnie was just about to find out who the new man in Jennifer Aniston's life was when there was an urgent knock at the door. "Urgh" that is so not for me Bonnie thought to herself "Bekah" she shouted out not wanting to get off the couch. "Someone's at the door for you!" Bonnie smiled to herself, it was also a bit of payback for waking her up so early this morning after her late shift. "Who is it?" Rebekah yelled back through her bedroom door, angry at being disturbed.

Kol had waited long enough, he could hear Bonnie and Rebekah clear as day through the door and seeing as neither were making moves to answer it he decided to let himself in. "Oh look… _he's cheeky and sneaky and really really creepy_" bonnie sang from her spot on the couch, peering over her magazine at Kol entering their apartment "It's KOL". She yelled the last bit of her jingle so Rebekah could hear.

Kol wasn't in the mood for the girl's antics, "Mature Bonnie, real mature" he tried to roll his eyes at Bonnie but the pain was too much. Clutching at his head, it felt like someone had hit him over the head with a baseball bat. Bonnie just gave him her best sarcastic smile whilst raising her eyebrows at the ridiculous cartoon peanuts on his pants. "Nice pj's"

Ignoring Bonnie's digs at him he continued on with the purpose of his visit "Bekah, I need you to come next door" Yelling out as he couldn't see Rebekah anywhere. "Go away" was the only response he got. "Come on Bekah, we have an agreement" He tried yelling again but was just met by silence.

As the silence seemed to drag on, Kol just crossed his arms standing his ground. Bonnie saw his defiant look and with a sigh she put down her magazine. She decided she had better try and explain the current situation, knowing if she didn't this standoff could last for hours. "Look Kol, you may as well give up, she bought Stefan home last night and there's no way you're going to get her out of there" pointing towards Rebekah's closed door.

"Look Bonnie you don't understand…I do something for Bekah and in return she does something for me and right now I need her to do that thing" He didn't want to be getting into this with Bonnie right now but he wasn't leaving until Rebekah agreed to come next door and keep her side of the bargain.

"Yeah thanks Kol, I understand the definition of 'agreement'" pausing to glare at him angrily, she couldn't understand why he was being so evasive. "What you can do is explain to me what this_ thing_ is that she does for you" Bonnie asked, trying to get to the bottom of why he desperately needed Rebekah so early in the morning. Kol looked down, not willing to answer her question.

"She helps me get rid of unwanted house guests" Kol finally admitted, unable to take the silence any longer but still not wanting to meet her questioning eyes. Bonnie's eyebrows shot up at his sudden admission "and why would she do that? What's she getting out of this little deal?" He could tell by her tone that Bonnie wasn't the least bit impressed.

Kol felt awkward about telling Bonnie, "I'm not allowed to talk to any of her female friends" finally looking up to meet her gaze, all he saw were her brilliant green eyes glaring back at him. "Look Bonnie, Bekah was pleading with me to stay away from her friends and I figured I may as well get something in return for fulfilling my part of the bargain", he smiled slightly, trying to explain things from his point of view. Not seeing Bonnie's look change he realised he hadn't made things any better.

Bonnie understood the terms and conditions of this little deal between her two friends, loud and clear. "You do realise Kol, that I'm one of her friends." pausing to watch her statement sink in "so I guess that means you should be staying away from me" she finished watching the small smile fade from his face. Bonnie just shook her head at her would be friend and lifted her magazine to block him from view.

Kol hadn't seen a problem with his arrangement with Rebekah until Bonnie had arrived on the scene. He'd taken an immediate liking to Bonnie and chosen to ignore his side of the deal until now. Bonnie was right though, according to their agreement he shouldn't have been spending time with her. He couldn't help it though; yeah sure at the start it was because she was easy on the eyes but as time went on it felt like something more.

This plan of attack had turned out to be more trouble than what it was worth, Rebekah obviously wasn't moving and Bonnie was now ignoring him. This was not the Saturday morning Kol had envisaged when he ventured out last night. Taking a big breath and blowing it out slowly through puffed cheeks he decided to head back to his own apartment to deal with this mess himself,

Moments after Kol had left, Bonnie saw Rebekah's door open and watched her as she walked towards their front door with a purpose. Bonnie wasn't going to let her off that easily, "since when did you start making deals with the devil?" Rebekah stopped in her tracks at Bonnie's question. Rebekah started to open her mouth to answer her but Bonnie could sense the lie about to play on Rebekah's lips. "Don't even try it, Kol told me all about your little deal".

Rebekah felt like a deer caught in headlights; she knew there was no getting around this. "I don't like doing it but it's a small price to pay not to have to watch my friends' hearts get broken" she said, finally deciding to come clean with Bonnie.

Bonnie didn't appreciate Rebekah taking it upon herself to decide that Kol and she couldn't just be friends and let her know as much, "You're not giving much credit to your friends there Rebekah". She had to roll her eyes at Bonnie's statement, who did she think she was kidding? "I've seen the way you look at him Bonnie, admit it that guy pushes your buttons, flips your switch and many other euphemisms I could use to basically say he turns you on, OK. I'm not blind". Bonnie put the magazine down and headed for her room, she didn't want to listen to home truths from Rebekah right now.

"and let me tell you if it wasn't for this deal he would've already had his way with you and you'd be crying and out that door and I'd be down a flatmate and another friend" she was ranting at Bonnie's retreating form. Rebekah wished to herself as she walked out the door that she could make Bonnie see that she only did it for her own good.

"Honey I'm home" Rebekah said singing out to Kol as she turned the key in his door, performing their usual role play. "You needn't bother" Kol said stopping her. Rebekah raised a questioning eyebrow at him as her eyes darted around the room. "She's gone" Kol said simply, answering her unsaid question as he popped two pills into his mouth and washed them down with a glass of water. "How did you manage that?" Rebekah couldn't believe that Kol had decided to do his own dirty work this time.

Kol didn't bother to answer her, he was sick of talking. He only had one thing left to say to Rebekah, and he'd wanted to tell her since he left her apartment this morning "The deals off Rebekah" he said sternly, making it clear to her that under no uncertain terms was he going to budge on this decision.

Not pleased with the turn of events, Rebekah stormed towards his door. Turning to him as she opened it, she was going to have the last word. "Whatever Kol, like you've been sticking to it lately anyway" she shouted at him before slamming his door on the way out.

* * *

Matt heard the bell tinkle above the front door and took a step back from the mixer to admire the girl that walked in. "Good afternoon Bonnie Bennett" trying on his best managerial voice "if you're late again I'm going to have to start docking your pay". Matt greeted Bonnie with a smile to show he was just kidding around.

"Sorry Matt" Bonnie started her apology as she walked out the back to put her stuff in her locker and get changed "my class ran late again". Bonnie felt like she had apologised to Matt for being late almost every shift and she felt awful about letting him down, though she was thankful that it was Matt she had to apologise to and not their manager. Actually come to think of it every shift for the last 3 weeks she had been rostered on with Matt, it was almost as if he'd requested it.

"Hey Matt?" she asked walking over to help him get the dough ready. "Yes Bonnie" he replied lifting the sticky dough out of the mixer. "Do you realise that we have been rostered on together for every shift lately?" she asked leaning up against the counter, eyeballing him for an indication to confirm her suspicions.

Matt froze at Bonnie's question worried he'd been caught out. The large ball of dough he had in his hands slowly started to droop slowly back into the mixer. "Do you think there's some kind of conspiracy going on?" Matt asked quirking his eyebrow at her, doing his best to feign shock and horror. Bonnie just laughed at the silly face he was pulling.

Bonnie had grown quite fond of Matt in the past few weeks, they had spent most of their shifts mucking around, having fun and sometimes even in fits of laughter. She just wondered if he felt anything more than friendship towards her. She knew Matt was shy though and trying to get him to admit to anything was going to be hard. "Ha Ha, no not so much conspiracy, more like someone requesting certain shifts" she said making patterns in the flour on the bench top.

Matt looked over to Bonnie, he knew he was busted. He couldn't help that he was falling for Bonnie, ever since their first shift together he'd been smitten with her and now watching her doodle crazy patterns in the white flour wearing the green polo 'Pizza Place' shirt that matched those amazing eyes he didn't feel the least bit guilty about requesting to work the same shifts. He just gave her one of his cheeky smiles returning her question, "and would there be anything wrong with that, if it were true?"

Bonnie eyes lit up, she knew it was more than just a coincidence, taking Matt's goofy smile and question as basic admission "hmmmmm, I don't think I'd have a problem with it" she smiled cheekily back at him. "Then what's with all the questioning?" he asked concerned there was more to it than she was letting on. "I knew it was your doing, I just wanted you to admit it to it" she said laughing at his distress.

Matt brought the big pile of dough over to the bench top in front of Bonnie and dropped it from a height, sending a cloud of flour all over her. "Oh you did not just do that" Bonnie said in mock outrage, picking up a handful of flour to throw at him.

Bonnie and Matt had managed to clean the flour off themselves and open the shop without any further incidences. Matt was putting on the toppings for the next order when he decided to muster up his courage and make his move. He had spent a fair bit of time with Bonnie lately and felt confident enough that she liked him. Looking at Bonnie he just knew if he didn't ask her soon some other guy was going to beat him to it if they hadn't already. "So Bonnie" he looked over to where she was rolling out dough, meeting her eyes "what are you doing next Friday night?" breathing a sigh of relief at finally managing to get the question out.

Bonnie thought Matt's shyness was too cute, she could see him becoming more than a friend and was willing to explore that route. About to say nothing Bonnie suddenly remembered she did have something on that night "Noth….Oh wait, sorry Matt but I forgot I promised Rebekah she could take me out to a club that night, she's been dying to take me out forever and this is my first Friday night off so" watching Matt's face fall Bonnie could tell it would be weeks before he asked her out again. She quickly added "but there's no reason you couldn't come too". Matt just nodded shocked at his small success. "Great! I'll text you the details when I get them off Bekah" Bonnie finished.

Matt finally found his voice "Ok. Cool. Sounds like a plan" it was not the date Matt had been hoping for but he was willing to take a night out with Bonnie and her flatmate as a step in the right direction.

Bonnie heard the bell ring loudly and turned to see the one person she'd been managing to avoid for the last two weeks. "Ugh of all the pizza joints in New York you had to walk into mine" she faked smiled at Kol as he came towards the counter.

Kol had no idea that Bonnie would be working at the Pizza Place tonight, when he called up earlier to place his order Matt had answered. To walk in and see her for the first time since that fateful Saturday morning looking sexy as hell in her Pizza Place outfit of all things, Kol instantly regretted deciding on Pizza for dinner. He hated that Bonnie had been avoiding him and seeing her only reminded him of how much he missed hanging out with her. He wasn't going to let her sarcastic dig at him go by without reply though. "Of all the pizza joints in New York you had to work at mine" he counted, reminding Bonnie that it had been him that first introduced her to the Pizza Place.

Kol's words were not lost on Bonnie, she sighed taking out her order book and pen resigning to the fact that he had been frequenting the Pizza Place way before she started working here. "Ok what do you want Kol" ready to take his order. "I phoned ahead" he replied smiling smugly at Bonnie. Looking to the back he saw Matt "Hey Matt" giving his friend a genuine smile and wave.

Bonnie upon hearing this turned to face Matt ready to jump over the bench and strangle him. Why hadn't he told her Kol had ordered takeaway and was coming down to the store. She had told him all about her falling out with Kol and a friendly heads up would've been nice.

Matt saw Bonnie's death stare and just shrugged in response, he had no idea that 'Kol coming down to the store' was information he should've divulged to Bonnie. Kol had been his mate for years and he didn't think twice about it when he rang up earlier. "Hey Kol, what's up?" Matt asked cutting Kol's pizza ready to put in a box. "Not a lot" Kol replied he had had a pretty uneventful week. "Seen the boys lately?" Matt asked keen to hear about his friends that played in his band.

Kol's face lit up forgetting his boring week. "Yeah I have actually, we've finally booked a big gig down at the Pavilion next month so we've been practicing quite a bit" Kol was pretty excited about booking a place that usually only reserved spots for big names. They were the opening act but he wasn't about to start complaining. "Wow the Pavilion, that sounds great" Matt said impressed they had finally booked a place that held more than 100 people. "Yeah I know, Steve and Paul have this big idea to get t-shirts and cd covers made up so we can sell them on the night, but I don't know we don't have any designs or anything ready so it's a bit of a stretch"

Bonnie's ears pricked up Kol's mention of the word design but she wasn't going to pipe up and say she could be of assistance. Apparently she didn't need to. "Hey! Why don't you get Bonnie to help you with some designs, have you seen her stuff it's awesome" Matt said excitedly volunteering her services for the job. He wasn't considering the fact that this meant Bonnie had to spend time with Kol whom he knew she wasn't too fond of at the moment. All he could think of was his friends and he really wanted to see them succeed knowing they needed money for expensive studio sessions, selling band shirts designed by bonnie would definitely help.

Kol narrowed his eyes at Bonnie, this girl was full of surprises. He knew she did something artistic but what it entailed or how good she was, he had no idea, she had never shown him her work. "So Bonnie", Kol began, he knew this was going to be a hard sell "I know I'm not your favourite person at the moment but would you consider helping us come up with a few designs for shirts and things" shoving his hands in his pockets and looking at her forlorn.

She hated that look, it always made her do things she didn't necessarily want to do. Although Bonnie had to admit she did like helping people and apparently Kol's band mates were friends of Matt so she felt like she should do something to help them out. "Ugh I guess,….. but", she realised she had one last card up her sleeve that would get her out of this, "I thought according to your little deal you're not supposed to be spending time with me" she pointed out to him putting her hands on her hips in defiance.

"Oh Bonnie, that deal has been off the table for weeks now" Kol smiled at her like the cat that got the cream. Bonnie was shocked, why hadn't Rebekah told her their deal was off? Oh wait, thinking about it for a second, Bonnie knew exactly why she'd withheld the information from her, she obviously still thought Bonnie had a thing for him.

"Fine I'll do it" Bonnie finally agreed. "Ok, well here's my number. Text me when your free and we'll set up a time to come round and work on designs" Kol couldn't keep the grin off his face, Bonnie was not only no longer ignoring him but going to be spending time with him.

Licking his thumb he leaned over the counter "Bonnie, you've got a bit of" wiping off the small bit of flour smudged on the side of her face. Seeing Bonnie screw her face up he pulled back "there got it" smiling wickedly as he picked up his pizza.

Bonnie was grossed out at just having Kol wipe his spit on her face, that guy just didn't let up. "You know Kol, you really are incorrigible" Bonnie said to his back as he walked to the door. Spinning to her as he pulled it open he smiled smugly at her, retorting "I Know".

Bonnie just shook her head at the audacity of him "That wasn't a compliment Kol!" she yelled just before the door closed. Matt looked bewildered as the two interacted, wondering why he had just volunteered Bonnie.

* * *

_And there you have it. Thanks so so much to all the followers/favourites and awesome words of encouragement from all the reviewers. This chapter would've taken me the rest of the week if it hadn't been for your lovely words._

_So if you are still enjoying it please fav/follow or review, love everyone of them ;). _


	5. Chapter 5 - Forgotten texts

Kol had just shut the water off in the shower when he heard his phone chiming, letting him know he had just received a new text message. Quickly grabbing his towel off the rack, wrapping it around his waist he ran to check his phone. His heart was racing with anticipation that he might finally be receiving the text he'd been waiting for since Wednesday night.

Mashing at his phone to bring the text up as quickly as possible, his heart instantly sank when he saw it wasn't Bonnie arranging a time to get together, but instead his telephone company letting him know he could get a bonus 1000 free texts if he recharged with $30 dollars this month. Throwing his phone onto his bed in defeat he wondered why hadn't Bonnie contacted him yet? He had spent the last 48 hours listening out for the specific chime that promised such joy, but of the half dozen texts he had received none were from Bonnie.

Kol slid open his wardrobe door in frustration, sending it crashing into the end of its track. He was sick of waiting around, how had he got to the stage where he wouldn't let his phone out of his sight in fear of missing a text from a girl? Enough was enough Kol thought, picking out a dark blue shirt to wear tonight. Tomorrow he was going to drop by at Bonnie's and arrange a time, after all she only lived three steps from his front door and these shirts weren't going to design themselves.

Rebekah was putting the finishing touches on her make up in the bathroom mirror, turning to shout in Bonnie's direction "If the top doesn't fit you try the gold one next". Smiling at her reflection as she fixed a few stray strands of hair, she was so glad to be finally taking Bonnie out for a good old fashioned 'girls night' that she was even lending Bonnie some of her clothes. Well Bonnie had basically left her no choice, she decided, once she saw what little clothes were in her wardrobe she had to help her friend out.

"Sooooo….. what do you think?" Bonnie said with a big grin as she walked into the bathroom modelling the outfit Rebekah had picked out for her. "Holy Shit" Rebekah exclaimed as she caught site of Bonnie in the mirror. Recovering her dropped lipstick out of the sink she turned to look her friend properly up and down, "I don't want those clothes back" Rebekah told her turning away to finish applying her lipstick. Bonnie's grin fell from her face, she had thought she looked pretty good. "What, Why?" Bonnie asked mistaking Rebekah's sudden disinterest in her clothes for dislike. "Because I'm never going to forget how much hotter you look in them." Rebekah smiled grabbing Bonnie so she stood beside her in the mirror, "look at us Bonnie; you and I are going to kill it tonight".

Bonnie's smile faltered, she had to remind Rebekah that Matt was coming along on this 'girls night' before she got too carried away, "yeah .You, me and Matt". She had told Rebekah after she got home from her Wednesday night shift that Matt would be joining them, but she sensed Rebekah had chosen to wipe it from her memory.

"Oh yeah, I forgot the pizza boy was meeting us" Rebekah replied despondently. She wasn't exactly pleased with Bonnie's choice in company, she thought she could do a lot better, but at least it wasn't Kol. "Oh well I guess it could be worse" Rebekah finished bringing a teasing smile back to her lips. Bonnie didn't match her smile, "don't start with this Kol thing again Bekah, and please be nice to Matt tonight, I really like him" Rebekah felt bad, she had apologised for the whole Kol/deal debacle and Bonnie had graciously accepted it on the condition that Rebekah would stop going on constant tirades about Kol. She tried to lighten the mood "yeah, yeah, let's forget about Kol, cause tonight the three of us are going to have a blast!"

Bonnie and Rebekah leant against the outside wall of the club waiting for Matt to meet up with them. Rebekah was rubbing her shoulders from the cold when she turned to Bonnie to vent her frustration at being kept waiting, "are you sure you told him the right place?" "I'm sure he'll be here soon" Bonnie assured Rebekah after checking her watch for the twentieth time in five minutes.

Bonnie pushed herself off the wall to have a better look down the street and was relieved to see Matt walking quickly towards them. "See there he is!" Bonnie grinned to Rebekah. "Let's just hope they let us in with him dressed like that because I'm not waiting out here in the cold any longer", Rebekah told Bonnie flatly when she bent forward to see Matt walking up the footpath. Bonnie slapped at her arm and muttered under her breath as Matt reached them, "Hey, I said be nice".

* * *

Kol had spotted Bonnie as soon as she walked in the club and hadn't been able to tear his eyes away since. He was completely hypnotised watching her walk up to the bar in those black skin tight jeans that hugged her every curve. Her loose black and white striped top showed off her toned slender arms and just enough cleavage. Kol was woken from his trance when he saw someone place a hand on the small of her back. His eyes followed up the arm of the offending hand and Kol cursed to himself when he saw who the owner was, 'Shit, Matt?!' when did that happen?

"Hey Bekah" Bonnie asked tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention, the music was really loud, "where are the toilets?" Rebekah turned to point in the general direction, much easier than trying to communicate the direction verbally. 'Thanks' Bonnie mouthed back. She had second thoughts about leaving Matt with Rebekah. She knew Rebekah could be ruthless when she wanted to and seeing as she wasn't the biggest fan of Matt who knew what would come out of her mouth while she wasn't there, but there wasn't much she could do about it, "will you guys be alright, I won't be long". Rebekah could sense Bonnie's apprehension and just smiled her sweetest smile "don't worry we'll be waiting right here" Rebekah shouted loud enough to be heard over the music. As Matt turned to nod in agreement with her statement, Rebekah mouthed to Bonnie behind his back 'best behaviour, I promise' whilst drawing her finger over her heart in an x.

Kol was just about to make his way over to the threesome to say hi, when he saw Bonnie heading his way. He tried to make his way through the throng of people to meet her but apparently he hadn't caught her attention as she continued straight on past him. Watching her walk away he saw her destination and decided he'd grab her on the way back, hoping to make a time for this t shirt designing, he was going to do it tomorrow but hey there was no time like the present.

As Bonnie walked back past him he grabbed for her elbow lightly, spinning her round to face him. "I need to talk to you. Now" Kol shouted above the music as he pulled Bonnie to a quieter corner of the club. Bonnie took a few steps back and leant up against the wall "what do you want to talk about" crossing her arms against her chest not liking his demanding tone. Kol quickly closed the distance she had created, resting his hand against the wall beside her head and leaning into her, "You look absolutely stunning," Kol whispered hotly against her ear, "but then again you always do" his lips lightly brushed her ear lobe as he finished. Kol leant back to see what effect his words had had on her.

Bonnie felt like her whole body was on fire, blood was speeding through her veins as Kol leant his body almost up against her. With his hot breath in her ear, it took all her strength to stop her body from instinctively rising to meet his when she felt his warm soft lips brushing against her ear lobe. Bonnie kept a straight face though when he pulled back, she'd be damned if she would let Kol read the emotion on her face "Is that all you wanted to tell me? I've got to get back to my friends" Bonnie looked over to the bar. Kol's eyes followed her gaze and saw Matt and Rebekah watching them closely, "Friends?" Kol eyebrows rose, questioning her "is that what Matt is…. Just a friend?" Bonnie didn't know how to answer his last question.

"I don't have time for this" she said trying to duck under his arm, only to have him lower it to block her way. Bonnie leaned back against the wall, he obviously wasn't going to let her get away that easily, and she looked up to match his intense gaze. "Why haven't you contacted me yet?" Bonnie narrowed her eyes at his question, was that hurt she could see behind his eyes? "What do you mean?" She could see sadness now behind those dark eyes, though she couldn't think of what he was referring to. "You were supposed to text me to set up a time to do some designs" Kol said finally filling her in on the details, the look of rejection now firmly planted on his face.

Had Kol been hanging around waiting for her to text him? Surely not, Bonnie shook her head trying to make sense of it all. "Kol it's barely been 2 days. I've been really busy with my uni stuff" she said exasperated by his neediness, "I'll get round to it this weekend, ok" she said trying to put an end to the conversation she didn't want to continue under Rebekah and Matt's watchful eyes. "Can I go now?" she said turning to the bar, not waiting for an answer. He didn't offer any resistance this time when she lifted his arm to get past.

She could feel Kol's eyes following her as she made her way back to the bar to join Rebekah and Matt. Rebekah handed her a drink as she reached the bar. "What was that all about?" she asked pointing in the direction Bonnie had come from. "Nothing," Bonnie replied too quickly and Rebekah's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Just Kol being Kol…. I guess", Bonnie said hoping that it was enough of an explanation. Bonnie saw Matt's brow begin to furrow at the recent turn of events, she had to do some damage control and fast. Downing her drink in two gulps she slammed her glass on the bar, and grabbed her friends hands, pulling them towards the dance floor "come on you two let's let loose, I love this song!"

As Bonnie pulled Matt and Rebekah by the hand into the thick mass of people, she spotted Kol watching them, still in the spot where she'd left him. Turning around so she wouldn't have to look at him Bonnie started moving her body in time with the thumping music. Matt and Rebekah followed her lead and the three of them were soon jumping and jostling in time with the rest of the sweaty crowd. As the tempo began to slow Bonnie felt Matt place his hands to rest on her hips, giving her a small sweet smile as he pulled her closer. "You're a really good dancer" Matt bent down to talk loudly in her ear. "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself", Bonnie smiled up at him returning the compliment. "I've been waiting to do this all night" Matt rushed out and with barely a second warning placed a hand on her chin and tilted her mouth up to claim it with his own. The kiss was soft and sweet and Matt's lips were much softer than Bonnie had imagined. Pulling away Bonnie smiled up at him "Why did you wait so long".

A jolt of jealousy shot through Kol as he watched Matt and Bonnie. He had seen enough and couldn't get out of the club quick enough, keen to head home as he wasn't really in the mood to party anymore.

* * *

Having gotten home earlier than usual, Kol was up at the crack of dawn the following morning. The only benefit he could see at being up this early on a Saturday was getting his washing done before the unit block's rush hour that usually started around 10am. By that time it was near impossible to get a machine. Collecting up all his dirty washing, he dumped them in a basket and headed for the basement.

Kol was putting the last of his clothes into the machine, pleased that he had beaten everyone in the building this morning to washing duties, when he heard the door to the laundry creak open. Turning at the sound of the squeaky door he saw her step inside the room, she was wearing baggy knee length sleeping pants and an old faded tee with the words 'Ping Pong Legend' printed across her chest. Her hair was wild and carelessly swept to one side. Kol couldn't help but stare at her 'God damn she was hot'. "How do you do that?" Kol asked a small smile tugging at his lips. "Do what?" Bonnie asked setting her basket on top of the dryer, questioning his question. "Look so good first thing in the morning" Kol finished slowly raising to meet her eyes with a smirk.

As Bonnie watched Kol straighten up to stand wearing nothing but sweat pants, a series of thick muscles roping down his torso to his exposed hip bones. She felt her stomach do a series of flip flops, how was it that Kol could make her feel so sick with lust? She hated that Rebekah was right, Kol definitely flipped her switch. "How do you manage to say the most inappropriate things all the time?" Bonnie countered with a question of her own.

Kol's smirk never left his face, if Bonnie wanted inappropriate he was willing to comply, "I'm surprised to see you up so early, I thought Matt would've kept you up all night". The butterflies in her stomach disappeared with a flash of anger, Bonnie wanted to slug him one, "way inappropriate Kol". Watching Bonnie bite down on her bottom lip in anger Kol decided she looked even sexier when she was mad. He knew he'd over stepped the line though, "I'm sorry that was unfair" taking a few steps to where she was standing. "I guess I'm just jealous, Matt's a lucky guy" he stood directly in front of her, his face serious.

Bonnie could see the sincerity of Kol's apology in his eyes as he leant in towards her, and as quick as they had disappeared the butterflies in her stomach were back. "Excuse me" Kol said as he reached past her for the washing powder. Bonnie felt the goose bumps beginning to creep up the back of her neck as a half-naked Kol leant over her. It was all too much, she had had a great time with Matt last night and was looking forward to the dinner date they'd organised for Thursday. So getting hot and bothered by Matt's good friend in the laundry, was not the situation she wanted to be in right now.

Bonnie had to get things back in the friendship zone and quick. "Apology accepted, look Kol I think we got off on the wrong foot here, can we try this again?" she asked referring to their morning interaction. "Morning Kol", Bonnie smiled politely, trying to start over again. Kol was willing to play along with Bonnie's little game, "morning Bonnie, glad I bumped into you I wanted to ask if you have time to work on those designs today?" 'Shit' Bonnie cursed under her breath, Bonnie didn't want to spend any more time with Kol than necessary but if it had to be done she wanted to get it out of the way before things got any more awkward between the two of them. "Yeah I should be done with my assignment by tonight if you wanted to come around say 7" Bonnie answered in one breath. "Great it's a date" Kol smiled brightly tossing the washing powder to her as he walked out the door.

* * *

Bonnie was just setting up her computer on the coffee table when she heard a knock on the door, looking up at the clock she saw it was exactly 7 o'clock. "Come in Kol" Bonnie shouted out to him, knowing exactly who it was. "Do you guys ever bother to answer your door?"Kol asked as he let himself into the apartment.

"I brought us some dinner" Kol announced as he raised a plastic bag full of takeaway containers, "I thought after last time,….. you know better safe than sorry". "Yeah good thinking" Bonnie said, thinking of the night they had tried to make dinner and how close she'd come to kissing him, she felt the heat rising to her cheeks. She quickly ducked her head and finished pugging in her computer so Kol wouldn't notice that she was blushing. "Just set it down in the kitchen and we'll get started" Bonnie wanted this to be as quick and painless as possible.

Bonnie patted the spot on the couch next to her signalling Kol over. Taking his cue he dropped down next to her "Ok, where do we start?" Kol couldn't get the stupid grin off his face, he just liked hanging out with Bonnie. "Here look through this and let me know if you like any of the fonts" Bonnie said very businesslike handing Kol her portfolio with all the fonts she had created. Kol began to flip through the book his eyes not believing what he was seeing, he never seen so many crazy interesting fonts. "How am I supposed to pick, they're all so good" Kol asked her in dismay, Bonnie had some serious talent.

"Ok let's try a different approach. What's your band's name?" Bonnie asked trying to move things along. Kol hated telling people face to face the name of his band, it was way too easy to see the dislike on their face and that always made him second guess the name they had eventually decided on. "Don't laugh ok,…. promise" Kol was nervous the worry written all over his face. "Ok, I promise" Bonnie agreed, this should be good, thinking of what stupid name Kol had decided to name the band. "Baseline Trend" Kol blew out finally getting the nerve up to get it out. Bonnie didn't laugh but just raised her eyebrows in surprise, "that's not even remotely funny….. actually, that's not half bad" she finished with a smile. Bonnie could tell Kol was anxious about what she thought of their name, he was usually so cocky and it was nice to see him uncertain about something for a change, it was cute.

An idea instantly popped into Bonnie's head. "Ok what about this?" she asked as she quickly grabbed a spare piece of paper and started to draw a cartoon speaker that looked obese with a series of notes next to it, "and then we could turn that into a B, for the start of Baseline". Kol watched Bonnie's tongue sticking out of her mouth as she concentrated on what she was doing. "And then finish it off like this" she said holding the piece of paper up for his approval. "Wow, and here I was thinking this was going to take hours" Kol said in shock as he took the paper out of her hands, examining it closely. "You are like some kind of mad genius, this is great the guys are going to love this" Bonnie couldn't hide the blush this time. "Well this is more like a template, I have to finish it using this program on the computer, pick colours, scan images etc ", she responded, trying to down play his excitement. "Oh good, so you're not done with me yet" Kol was seriously concerned that his quality time with Bonnie was about to come to an abrupt end.

She had originally planned to get Kol out of her place as soon as he had agreed upon one of her designs but she had put the plan aside, she was enjoying Kol's company tonight and didn't want it to end just yet. "How about you play me some of your music while I start plugging away at this" Bonnie suggested pointing at her computer. "Ahhh, ok. I've got some of our stuff saved on a cd, I'll just go grab it" Kol wasn't sure he was ready for Bonnie to listen to his music, but how could he say no when she was going out of her way to help him.

Kol returned with cd in hand opening the door he saw Bonnie working away, furiously clicking at her mouse, whilst she did that cute thing where stuck out her tongue when she was in deep concentration. He could've stood there watching her for hours, everything Bonnie did had Kol mesmerized, the way she constantly brushed the hair that fell into her eyes to the side, the way she constantly rocked her feet back and forth, the brilliant smile that came to her lips when she liked what she saw on her screen, just the sight of her made Kol's head swim.

His smile dropped though when he remembered what he'd seen last night, Matt had definitely staked his claim with Bonnie and he had to respect the friend code. Messing with a mate's girl was not on and breaking a very sacred rule. In that second he hated that he was friends with Matt, for if he wasn't he'd be playing hard to win Bonnie away from him. "Hey, how about dinner?", Kol finally spoke up, breaking Bonnie from her trance.

Bonnie looked up from her computer to see Kol standing in the doorway brandishing a cd "Sure sounds good". Bonnie pushed away her keyboard and mouse as Kol brought over the takeaway boxes "Yumm I love Chinese" Bonnie said as she saw what was in the containers. Kol just laughed at her response "why do I get the feeling that you would've said the same no matter what I'd bought". Bonnie smirked at him as she popped his cd in her computer "you just know me so well" and hit play.

The first song began to play through the speakers, it was really good Bonnie was reluctant to admit, she wasn't expecting Kol's music to be something she'd be into, but what she really wasn't ready for was his voice. When she heard the first line of the song being sung she turned to him in disbelief, "is that you?" It was now Kol's turn to blush, embarrassed by Bonnie staring at him wide eyed. "Yeah, I think we sound better live, this is only a crappy recording hence why we need the money from t shirt sales to have a proper recording session in the studio" he was rambling now trying to drown out his singing coming through the speakers. "Shut up, you're really good, you've got a really nice voice Kol" Bonnie smiled genuinely at him, meaning every word she said.

Kol popped another dim sim into his mouth "so how many years is your deg….'SHIT' Kol hadn't finished his sentence before the power went out. "Bonnie?" Kol asked just so he could hear her voice now that he couldn't see her. "Yeah I'm still here, what do we do now?" Bonnie asked trying to adjust her eyes to the dark. "Do you have a torch or candles?" Bonnie shook her head to answer before she realised he couldn't see her response "ahhhh not sure" she'd have to remember to ask Rebekah when she got home where she kept them and the takeaway menus for that matter. "I'll be right back" Kol tried to reassure her as he ducked next door. Bonnie sat and waited for his return, thankful he was around or she would've been pretty stuck right now.

Kol returned and lit a few candles instantly adding light to the pitch black room. They'd finished their Chinese by candlelight and Kol was starting to pack up the empty containers. "It's freezing in here without the heater" Kol said, noticing Bonnie starting to shiver at the cold "Ooh I know" Bonnie sprung up from the couch and headed for her room, returning with her woollen blanket "here" she said placing it over them. Kol saw that the blanket barely covered them, sitting as they were on the couch. "Come on Bonnie you're going to have to scoot over here if this blanket's going to cover us properly", he stated stretching his arm out. Bonnie knew he was right and she was so cold she wasn't going to argue. Moving over towards Kol and letting him wrap his arm around her she felt warmer already.

"So what do we do about the designs?" Kol asked looking down at Bonnie tucked under his arm. "It won't take me long to finish it off tomorrow and then I'll just email them to you when I'm done" Bonnie answered trying to stifle a yawn, it had been a long day, spending most of it trying to put the finishing touches on her latest assignment whilst doing household chores in her breaks. Kol noticed Bonnie's half yawn, "hey you're tired, I should go" he said starting to get up but was met by resistance in the form of Bonnie's arm wrapping itself around his waist. "No, please don't go. You're my only source of warmth till the power comes back on" she looked up pleading with him "and besides I feel safer with you here" she finally admitted to him. Bonnie knew she was complicating her life by allowing this closeness with Kol, but it was true what she'd said, she did feel a lot safer with him next to her in the dark.

Kol looked into Bonnie's eyes, searching for answers, did she know what her words were doing to him, "Ok" he breathed out huskily. Kol relaxed back into the couch, he was quickly discovering that Bonnie was someone he couldn't say no to. Bonnie just smiled at his answer and snuggled in against him for more warmth, resting her head on his chest. Kol naturally brushed the lock of hair that had fallen across her face aside and lightly touched his lips to her forehead "I'm not going anywhere" he whispered against her skin, barely audible to Bonnie. Watching the rise and fall of her body as she breathed, Kol realised he wanted to stay like this forever, which surprised him as he'd never felt this way about a girl before. He briefly thought of Matt, but he didn't feel bad for even one second, screw the friend code, Bonnie was worth it, 'Game on Matt' he thought.

_There it finally is, sorry it took me longer than usual to update._

_I always get nervous before I post a chapter so I just want to say a big thank you to everyone that has reviewed, followed and favourite, it really does make a difference._

_I hope you guys like the latest instalment the next one should be up soon!_


	6. Chapter 6 - You call that chicken soup

Bonnie's eyes flew open, it felt like she'd only closed them for a few moments but as Kol was nowhere to be seen and judging by the bright light streaming in through the window she must've been asleep for hours. With her eyes coming into focus Bonnie saw her computer sitting on the coffee table and realised she'd fallen asleep on the couch again. With a groan she rolled over burying her face into her pillow. Wait pillow? She couldn't remember getting a pillow from her room last night.

The last thing she remembered was the freezing cold and asking Kol to stay and keep her warm, "God" bonnie groaned again tossing back to face the ceiling. 'What the hell was I thinking' bonnie asked looking up hoping answers would suddenly appear on the blank canvas. If her life wasn't complicated enough, with trying to keep her grades up so she didn't lose her scholarship and working enough to pay for expenses. She'd gone and kissed Matt, her work colleague, one night and then cuddled up to Kol the very next. And that wasn't even taking into account the fact the two guys were friends.

Still staring at the ceiling lost in her thoughts, Bonnie heard movements coming from Rebekah's room. 'Oh shit, Bekah' Bonnie hadn't even factored into this whole mess the possibility that Rebekah may have found them embraced on the couch, when she arrived home late last night. If she did Bonnie really didn't want to think what conclusions Rebekah had already jumped to.

Not wanting to think about the mess she'd made anymore, Bonnie got up and switched on her computer, glad the power was finally back, and started working on the designs straight away. Bonnie knew it wouldn't take her long to finish them and hoped maybe once she got them out of the way, she could put some distance between herself and Kol. As when it came to Kol, Bonnie couldn't deny that she was starting to develop some strong feelings, dangerous feelings, she just wasn't sure if she was ready for them yet.

Making a few altercations to the designs and changing a few colours Bonnie smiled, pleased with how quickly it was coming together. Clicking to save her progress so far, she noticed the icon showing Kol's cd was still in her computer. A little background music always helps when working, Bonnie thought to herself as she hit the play button, deep down though she just really wanted to hear his voice.

Bonnie had almost finished the second design when she heard Rebekah opening her door "Don't you have any other songs on your computer?" Rebekah asked curtly as she strode past Bonnie into the kitchen, "All I've heard for the past hour is that same damn song, over and over and over" twirling her finger around multiple times to illustrate just how fed up she was, whilst pouring herself some cereal with the other hand.

"Sorry Bekah" Bonnie ducked her head embarrassed, she had no idea she'd been playing it for so long, grabbing at her mouse to quickly click the stop button. Rebekah joined her on the other end of the couch, "What song is that? I know it from somewhere" she said through mouthfuls of cereal. "Ahhhh, just a new song one of my friend's introduced me to, I don't think you'd know it" well it wasn't a total lie, but Bonnie didn't want to even think about the field day Rebekah would have if she knew that she'd spent the last hour listening to one of Kol's songs.

Rebekah just shrugged at her in response, letting it go. "So what are you working on?" she asked leaning over to get a better look at Bonnie's screen. Bonnie was just opening her mouth to answer when Rebekah interrupted "Oh Baseline Trend…. Isn't that ?", Rebekah paused and quirked her eyebrow looking pointedly towards their front door.

Bonnie jumped on Rebekah's pause, "Kol's band? Yeah it is, he asked me to do a few designs to put on some t shirts, that's all" trying to shut down the inquisition she knew she was about to receive from Rebekah. Ignoring the revelation she'd just squeezed out of Bonnie, Rebekah changed the subject "Hey are you excited about this Thursday, you know your big dinner date with Matt?"

"Ah yeah" Bonnie replied not knowing what else to say. She was too surprised about Rebekah letting it go, she must really be taking her promise not to nag about Kol seriously. Bonnie eyed Rebekah nervously as she got up to rinse her bowl, not really trusting her, it was unlike Bekah to let it slide. But hey maybe Kol had left before she got in last night, Bonnie happily mused to herself as Rebekah started towards her room. All of a sudden she came to a halt in front of Bonnie and chewed on her nail, raising her eyes to right as if she was thinking on something.

"Hang on, now I remember how I know that song, it's by Baseline Trend. Yeah that's it, I heard it at their last gig" the look on Rebekah's face said she had known all along and had enjoyed watching Bonnie squirm. But Rebekah hadn't finished with her yet. "Oh by the way Kol said something about writing down his email address somewhere before he left last night" Rebekah waved her hand dismissively at the importance of the information, her knowing smile growing wider.

'Shit Busted' Rebekah was never going to let her live this down. Bloody Rebekah had known all along, she'd probably walked in on her sleeping, snuggled against Kol's chest. "You're pure evil Bekah". "Oh no Bonnie", Rebekah said shaking her head and peeling the top sticky not off the pad near their door, "you're the evil one" she finished, sticking the note with Kol's hand writing to her computer.

Typing out the email address from the sticky note Rebekah had placed on her screen, Bonnie knew she had gotten off easy this morning. Attaching the two files and hitting send, she felt the torture was only just beginning, Bekah was never going to let her live this down.

She sent Kol a quick text so he knew she'd sent the designs. _**–Check your email I've just sent you the designs**_

Kol lifted his head off his pillow and reached over to grab his phone he'd just heard vibrating against the wooden bedside table. His grin stretched from ear to ear when he saw who it was from. Thinking of last night, when Bonnie had drifted off to sleep in his arms, kept the grin firmly planted on his face. She had looked so peaceful he didn't want to wake her when the power had come back on.

That was until Rebekah had come home, to say she was surprised to see him was an understatement. After seeing Rebekah's face he had managed to unravel himself from Bonnie without waking her up, placing a pillow under her head before his quick exit. Seeing that Bonnie had emailed him, he guessed Rebekah must've passed on his message, so hopefully that meant she wasn't giving Bonnie too much grief.

Taking advantage of now being in possession of Bonnie's mobile number he snapped a quick picture of himself and texted Bonnie back a thanks.

Bonnie looked at the message she'd received. She couldn't stop the toothy smile spreading across her face. Kol was lying in his bed, washboard abs on full display, giving her a thumbs up and grinning like a mad man. She read the words below the picture _**–Checking them now, I'm sure they'll be great, after all you did them. Thanks I owe you one. Kol.**_

Bonnie had to roll her eyes that the first text Kol had ever sent her was a half-naked photo of himself. The guy definitely wasn't lacking much in self-esteem, Bonnie realised as she sent a quick reply. _**–I may just be collecting on that debt ;)**_. Let him dwell on that Bonnie thought as she saved the picture to her photos folder.

* * *

Bonnie was sulking on the couch cursing the fact she had to use public transport on a daily basis to get around, it felt like being in a can of sardines, except sardines didn't cough and sneeze over everything else in the can. She had picked up a horrendous cold and was too sick to do anything but mope on the couch under a blanket and try and get some rest.

Well try was not really the optimum word when all she could hear was a stead thumping coming from next door. "What the hell is that noise?" Bonnie tried covering her ears with her hands but the steady beat was so loud she could feel it pulsing through her body. The situation wasn't helping the pain already throbbing in her head. "Turn it Off!" Bonnie tried yelling over the sound. The sound continued and all Bonnie got was sharp pain in her throat for her efforts.

Bonnie grabbed her phone, punched out a quick message and hit send, hoping Kol had his nearby as she was too weak to get up_**. –Whatever you're doing, STOP IT!**_ Counting slowly back from ten, Bonnie waited for the noise to stop, knowing if it didn't she was going to have to get up and go over there, she couldn't bear it much longer her brain felt like it was going to explode. Luckily the place went deathly quiet when she reached 4. Sighing in relief Bonnie began to close her eyes, when her door burst open.

"Geez Knock much?" Kol just ignored Bonnie's dig, the girls never answered their door, and seeing as Bonnie had chosen to text him rather than come and tell him face to face, he doubted that today was going to be an exception. "Sorry about the music, I just wanted to hear the stuff I'd been working on today without my headphones, plus I thought you guys were out tonight. I saw Bekah leave earlier and you told me yesterday you were going out with Matt tonight, so…." Kol raised his eyebrows questioning her attire if she was planning on going out soon.

"Kol it's all well in good making sure we're not home but you do realise there's like 18 other tenants in this building, don't you think playing your music that loud would annoy them?" Bonnie was seriously wondering how he hadn't been kicked out by the board yet. Kol just dismissed her words with a wave of his hand and gave a wink "Ahhh Bonnie, the old ladies around here love me, I've asked them if it bothers them and they just tell me they turn down their hearing aids if it gets too loud". Bonnie could only shake her head in disbelief at his answer, though she didn't doubt Kol had them all wrapped around his little finger.

"Yeah well I'm still here, I had to cancel Matt because I'm so sick and all I want is just a little bit of peace and quiet so I can get some rest," Bonnie started her voice sounding croaky. "So is there any chance of putting those headphones back on, or at least turning it down a notch or ten" Bonnie informed him as she grabbed a tissue to blow her nose. "Yuck you do sound terrible" Kol was pleasantly surprised at the turn of events, well it sucked for Bonnie that she was sick but at least she wasn't spending time with Matt.

"You don't have to look so pleased about it" Apparently he hadn't been able to keep his pleasure at Matt's misfortune from showing on his face. "Sorry I wasn't smiling about your sickness I was just thinking about something else" Kol quickly changed the subject before Bonnie could ask him what that something else was, "Hey do you know what's really good when you have a cold? Chicken soup!"

Bonnie started to shake her head in protest, she didn't want Kol hanging around right now, she felt like crap and just wanted to rest. Kol obviously didn't know how to take a hint, "How about I make you my chicken soup, it's really good." Not waiting for her answer, more so in case it was no again, Kol headed back to his place to get what he needed.

As Kol re-entered Bonnie's apartment she recognised the plastic packaging he held in his hands. "Hey that's just 2 minute noodles with chicken flavouring," she said, pointing to the offending package. "I thought when you said you were going to make your chicken soup it was going to be like your special family recipe or something", Bonnie was bitterly disappointed she had started to warm to the idea of some home cooked soup.

"Well no, see when I said 'my chicken soup' I meant it in the possession sense of the word" Kol informed her as he walked to the kitchen. "Whatever" Bonnie replied dispondantly, Kol obviously wasn't going to go away seeing as he was now getting a pot out of the kitchen cupboard.

Kol came over to wear Bonnie was glued to the couch and handed her a steaming bowl of hot 2 minute noodle chicken soup. It was soothingly warm and liquid, and actually really tasty. "I don't know if it's just because I haven't had anything to eat in the last 24 hours, but this is really, really, delicious" Bonnie admitted to Kol with a smile, spooning out another mouthful. "See I told you it I was good", Kol announced with a proud smirk.

Bonnie had to laugh at how pleased he was with his efforts, "yeah add that to the list of your achievements Kol, I make great 2 minute noodles". Kol was glad Bonnie was back to cracking jokes, it was a good sign she was feeling better. He lifted up her feet that were stretched out on the end of the couch and sat down returning her feet to his lap and began to rub them. "So what are our plans for the rest of the night?"

Why was it that everything that Kol did with her felt so natural. Bonnie felt as if they had done this every night, sitting on the couch together, Kol massaging her feet. "Our plans? You were just supposed to turn down your music and leave me in peace", Kol began to lift her feet to get up, but she didn't want him to leave just yet, "but I guess I do feel a little better after having something to eat".

"So what should we do?" Kol asked raising his eyebrows at her suggestively. Bonnie laughed at fact Kol was even thinking of doing anything of sort in her current condition, "What I really should be doing, even though I don't want to, is my assignment, I'm way behind". Kol got up turning to Bonnie, "Ok then I'll get your computer for you where is it?" He headed off toward Bonnie's room once he saw her point. "Does this count as paying off that favour I owe you?" Kol shouted from Bonnie's room. Bonnie smiled to herself, "Not even close buddy".

* * *

Bonnie was washing the sticky dough off her hands when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. Drying her hands on the backs of her jeans she yanked her phone out and saw a new message from Kol.

_**- Hey Bonnie where're you at? I've got a surprise for you!**_

Bonnie's face drew a smile at the thought of what Kol's surprise was.

_**- Pizza Place, making dough. What kind of surprise?**_

She didn't have to wait long her phone buzzed back immediately.

_**- Great I'll be there in 20, and I'll have a cheese and pepperoni to go.**_

What the hell.

_**- Hey where do you get off texting me your pizza orders?**_

_**- Cheese and pepperoni … please? **_

Kol had attached a photo of his face pulling his saddest puppy dog look. The one he knew she couldn't say no to.

_**- ugh Fine!**_

Bonnie suddenly became aware of her surroundings and realised that all noise had ceased in the Pizza Place. Looking up from her phone she saw Matt staring at her. Matt didn't want to ask who she'd been happily sending texts to, that would be prying into Bonnie's business, but he was curious who it was that could make her smile like that.

Bonnie put her phone away and started on Kol's pizza order. Sprinkling a large amount of pepperoni on the pizza, knowing how much Kol loved it, Matt closed in on her. "Who's that for?" "Kol, seriously Matt I don't know how you stayed friends with him for so long, he can be the biggest pain sometimes" Bonnie continued to sprinkle cheese over Kol's special made pizza. Matt wondered why he was friends with Kol a lot of the time, especially when he found out things like Kol was the one that had been texting Bonnie. "I see" Matt said as he watched Bonnie happily slide the pizza into the oven and brush off her hands.

Bonnie spun around when she heard the bell signal that someone had entered the shop, hoping it was Kol. She wasn't disappointed, Kol struggled his way in holding a large cardboard box against his chest, finally making it inside he looked up eyes glinting with excitement as he saw Bonnie. "So…." , he asked as he dropped the box to the side showing off his new t shirt, "what do you think?"he asked with the biggest smile. "Oh my God, you did it, you got them made" Bonnie rushed over to him grabbing at his shirt with both fists so she could get a good look at her work. "Of course I did silly, Do you like?" "Hell yeah!" Bonnie jumped up to wrap her hand around his neck, to give Kol a thankyou hug. Kol caught her in the hug, grabbing Bonnie in tighter and lifting her up off the ground so her feet dangled below.

"I know they look amazing" he said into Bonnie's hair. Kol was enjoying his embrace with Bonnie when he looked up and saw Matt's disapproving look. He dropped Bonnie back down to the ground and held her at arms width, "and soon hundreds of people are going to be walking around wearing your designs." Bonnie and Kol realised there was someone else in the room when they heard him clear his throat, "Ahem". Matt had to find some way to break up this intimate moment they were sharing before his eyes. "I think your pizza is getting cold" Matt said tapping on Kol's pizza box he'd put on the counter.

Kol lifted the lid to see thick layer of steam rising from the pizza, he couldn't remember the last time his pizza had been this hot when he'd come to pick it up "Yeah you're right, I guess I should go". There wasn't really any point sticking around any longer, Matt had got the message that he shared something special with Bonnie there was no point rubbing it in any further.

Matt didn't break eye contact with Kol, "yeah I guess you should, nice seeing you again Kol" he said pointedly smiling politely as Kol began to retreat. Kol stopped to pick up the cardboard box he'd dropped earlier, "I came to give you guys one of these" taking two t-shirts out and tossing one to Matt and Bonnie, "Enjoy".

After Kol had left Matt immediately rounded on Bonnie, "so mind telling me the real reason you cancelled on Thursday?" Bonnie instantly got Matt's meaning, he thought she'd cancelled because of Kol. "I told you I was sick" Bonnie said firmly, not liking what he was accusing her of. "I'm not blind Bonnie I can see there's something going on between you two" Bonnie suddenly felt guilty even though she really didn't have anything to feel guilty about. Sure over the past week her feeling for Kol had turned from plain lust to something more genuine, but she hadn't acted on it. Plus she hadn't actually defined her relationship with Matt.

Bonnie looked at the shirt in her hands trying to find the right words. She'd been meaning to have this conversation with Matt since finding out that she wasn't meeting the requirements of her scholarship she just hadn't found the right time. After seeing the hostility between Matt and Kol though, Bonnie knew it was well past time.

"Look Matt it's been a really tough week, I received my first pass mark at Uni, my grade point average is starting to slip and if I don't spend every spare moment working on my assignments I'm probably going to lose my scholarship." Bonnie kept her eye on the shirt she was scrunching tightly in her hands.

"Which means I have to move back home, I can't afford to live here without it" Bonnie looked up from the tight ball in her hands and met Matt's sad eyes, this wasn't going to be easy. "What I'm trying to say is; I don't really have time for a relationship right now, I've just got too much going on so can we just take a step back and just be friends?"

"Just friends you say?" Matt thought things were progressing well with Bonnie, until today he never would've guessed he'd be getting the dreaded 'can we just be friends' speech. But what could he do he didn't want Bonnie to lose her scholarship, what was the point in having a relationship with Bonnie if she was only going to have to move away. He didn't really have a choice, "Ugh who am I kidding of course we can just be friends Bonnie" Matt tried to smile to let her know he was ok with it. "Just make sure though that when you do have the time for something more I'm the first person you let know". If Bonnie did ever change her mind he wanted to make sure he got the jump on Kol.

"Great" Bonnie nodded at Matt glad to finally get the conversation she'd been dreading out of the way. "Well I guess I better start on those orders" Bonnie said cheerfully trying to get things back to normal. "Yeah great" Matt said looking down at the shirt in his hands, he thought it looked cool, he just didn't fancy wearing Bonnie and Kol's love child.

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**Sorry this was a bit later than expected but I've had the flu this week.**

**I know not the most exciting of chapters, but believe me your persistence with this story will pay off in the next chapter ;).**

**As always massive thanks to all the follows and favourites. And those of you that have left reviews forever thanks, I don't know if I would've made it through this chapter without them.**

**If your still enjoying it let me know, I always nice to know someone likes what I've written.**

**Have a great weekend and thanks for reading.**


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